12 Days of Shipmas: Eleven Pipers Piping
by Juliet'sEmoPhase
Summary: Hiccup and Jack Frost are having a snowball fight with Merida and Rapunzel, when Hiccup realises Jack's catching his attention in more ways than one. Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons, no smut.


Author's Note 14-12-15: So, in case you missed it on Tumblr, I am writing twelve stories in the run-up to Christmas, featuring my favourite ships from my favourite fandoms. If you want to see the list of fandoms to come, or the prompt list I have been working from, please go to my Tumblr (at julietsemophase) and look for "12 Days of Shipmas" on my homepage :-D

This is Hiccup and Jack Frost from "Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons", which is the combined fandom of Rise of the Guardians, Brave, Tangled and How to Train Your Dragon. Please check out my Tumblr for the videos that inspired me to join this fandom!

No real spoilers in this, or spoilers either, just fun feels for you to enjoy. I hope you like it! xJx

Eleven Pipers Piping

Hiccup darted behind the tree, a giggling Rapunzel by his side as they dodged the hail of snowballs pelting against the foliage. "You'll have to do better than that, Berk!" Jack crowed down to them triumphantly from his vantage point riding the wind above their heads.

Hiccup smirked at his partner and she gave him the thumbs up. "We're not defeated yet!" he called out as they bolted back into the clearing, hastily scooping up snow as they went. Jack was already zooming down to greet them, hopping back on the ground and ducking as they hurled one snowball after the other. "How'd you like that, huh!" Hiccup gloated, but it was short lived as a mass of red hair came barrelling down upon him.

"Not so fast, laddie!" Merida laughed, shoving clumps of snow down his shirt and making him squeal. Rapunzel tried coming to his rescue, but Jack was too quick for them, using his magic staff to sweep up a whole swathe of snow, dousing them all. "I'm supposed to be on your side!" Merida protested, shaking the snow from her hair back towards the other boy.

Jack just grinned though. "In a snowball war, there are no _sides,"_ he informed them, nipping back and forth between the volleys flying through the air from the girls.

"Oh, really?" Hiccup said, a look of devilment in his eye as he scanned the clear blue sky. "Well, in that case-"

He whistled and the sound of bounding feet met their ears as Toothless came charging over from the tree line where he'd been resting. "No fair!" cried Rapunzel, jumping out of the way as Hiccup's loyal dragon companion used his impressive wings to fan another bank of snow over his opponents.

"That's cheating!" Jack accused, though he didn't really mean it as he advanced on Hiccup, the two boys smashing handfuls of snow against each other, breathless with laughter.

"Says the _snow-god_ who can control the _weather,"_ Hiccup teased, rather pleased with himself for holding his own against Jack – he'd been the one to actually bring them the snow after all.

But then Jack growled, a glint in his eye that made Hiccup pause for just a second, something funny fluttering in his belly. It was all Jack needed to lunge for him, knocking them both into the snow.

"Ah!" Hiccup yelped as they rolled over and over. "Cold! It's cold!"

Jack grabbed his shoulders and pinned him down, straddling his hips and leaning above him. "That's generally how snow works," he grinned, his breath misty between them.

There wasn't a lot of room between them though, Hiccup realised, and he blinked up at his friend, that strange sensation curling in his stomach again. Why wasn't he shoving him off, getting some snow down that blue hoodie he always wore? Why were they just looking at each other?

His eyes were the same colour as his sweater, Hiccup realised. Icy blue, and they crinkled as a soft smile pulled at Jack's mouth.

"I-" Hiccup murmured.

And then they were pummelled with snowballs from a certain Scottish princess and her long-haired accomplice. "Get them, get them!" Rapunzel cried, Pascal the chameleon raising his little green fist encouragingly from the safety of her pocket.

The moment broken, the boys rolled apart and joined forces against the girls, but Toothless made sure that everyone (including Hiccup, the traitor) got a regular flick of snow to keep them on their toes.

The battle raged on as the light dimmed in the sky. Hiccup found he couldn't help but keep glancing at Jack, the way he laughed, the way he hopped about like he was dancing on snowflakes.

What was wrong with him?

It had been like this a lot lately, he always found himself watching Jack without really knowing why. He also couldn't work out if his chest tightened or loosened when he did – just what was going on?

He shook his head, trying to clear it, and soon got carried away in the game again. After a time, his thoughts slowly focused more and more on getting the better of his friends, and stopped swirling around Jack.

Several more assaults and a series of snow angels and snowmen later, night was well and truly drawing in, and the damp and tired group came to a general consensus that it was time to head home. They were staying in a little log cabin a short walk away, and Rapunzel had promised to make them all a hot chocolate. Hiccup was just in an enthusiastic debate with Merida about the right way to drink it ("You don't like _marshmallows!"_ he'd shrieked. _"Why do you hate love!")_ when he'd felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Um," Jack said, looking more subdued than he normally did. "Can you girls give us a minute?"

Merida frowned. "Why?" she demanded. "What are you plotting?"

She was pulled away though by Rapunzel, who whispered something in her ear, causing a look of understanding to spread over her face.

"Oh," she said, nodding. "Right, sure, we'll – uh – see you later."

Hiccup looked between them as they skipped off, and Jack. "What was that about?" he asked, but Jack just shrugged.

"I was wondering," he said, holding onto his staff with both hands, almost hanging on the thing. "If we could go flying?"

Hiccup raised his eyebrows. "Um, sure I guess?" Jack flew all the time, why was he asking permission? He soon found out.

"No, I-" Jack said hesitantly. "I meant would you _take_ me flying. On Toothless?"

"Oh," said Hiccup in surprise. "Well, yeah, okay sure – if that's okay with you buddy?" he asked his scaly friend who had plonked himself down to sit beside the talking boys. Toothless looked between them shrewdly, his eyes narrowing, and Hiccup felt awkward. "Uh, it's okay, right?" he tried again. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous, but he figured maybe the prospect of sharing something so important with Jack when he'd spent all afternoon with that funny feeling in is gut was a bit daunting. The girls weren't there to divide his attention anymore.

Toothless eventually tilted his chin and gave Hiccup a nod, before lowering his body down to the ground so they could climb on his back. Hiccup blew out a sigh of relief. "So, you get bored flying your way?" he asked conversationally as he flung his good leg over his dragon's shoulders.

"Nah," said Jack with a shrug, jamming his staff into the snow to let it stand alone. "Just fancied trying it your way," he said, but he seemed off somehow, with his hands shoved his the pockets of his sweater, chewing on his lip.

Hiccup wasn't sure what he could do about it though, so he just figured he'd be nice to him until he cheered up again. "Well," he said grandly. "Climb aboard! He won't bite – he's toothless." He patted his best friend's head. "Mostly."

Jack looked over at the dragon, then steeled himself, hopping on the saddle in one swift motion. The harness was only really meant to take one person, so Jack pressed himself up to Hiccup, chest to his back, arms around his waist, and the strange feeling in Hiccup's belly shot straight up his spine and made him lightheaded.

"Er, great," he said, trying not to let his voice shake – why was his voice shaking anyway! Why was he being so weird!

"Right, well, let's go buddy!" He locked his metal foot into the stirrup and kicked off with his good one, even though it had been a very long time since Toothless had really needed any direction. They were in sync when they flew, anticipating each other's moves naturally.

"Whoa!" Jack cried as they soared up into the night's sky, leaving the trees behind them in a flash as they chased the clouds. It was much colder up here, and Hiccup was pleased to have the warmth of Jack's body wrapped around him.

He laughed as Jack exclaimed again in excitement. "You fly all the time?" he chuckled, looking back over his shoulder to see his friend's face alive with wonder.

But Jack shook his head, dragging his eyes away from the stars and the moon to stare right at Hiccup. "This is different," he beamed. "I'm not the one who's flying – you guys are. It's…special."

Hiccup felt his cheeks get a little flushed despite the freezing winds. Toothless was gliding slowly above the clouds, drifting along against the horizon. "Yeah," he said bashfully. "I guess it is pretty great."

Jack nodded at the moon, just a sliver of curved light hanging in the sky. "I used to feel pretty hopeless," he said, gazing up at it, and Hiccup followed suit. "I didn't know who I was, why I was here. It was so lonely with no one believing in me, or even able to see me."

Jack didn't talk much about his life before he'd met Hiccup and the others, so he didn't interrupt, even though he wanted to ask a tonne of questions. He did squeeze Jack's hand though, still resting on his stomach as they looked up at the sky together.

"But then I finally understood, that the Man in the Moon chose me for a reason, that my life had purpose. I had the other Guardians, and then-" He paused, and Hiccup glanced back. Jack smiled at him. "Then I met you guys. My life is so full now, it's a long time since I felt that sadness. And sometimes, it's nice to look up at the moon and say thank you."

Neither of them were looking at the moon though. They were looking at each other. Hiccup felt that maybe this was the time to say something, but he had no idea what. That he was glad Jack wasn't sad anymore, or lonely? That he was glad they were friends – _great_ friends? He felt like voicing any of that out loud would somehow spoil it though, so he just continued to hold his gaze. It should have felt uncomfortable, but it didn't, and the flurries were back in his belly with a renewed sense of spirit.

They were so close, and Jack was so warm. Hiccup had always thought he would be cold, running around with his bare feet, leaving trails of ice and snow in his wake. But even through his clothes Hiccup could feel he was radiating heat, and he found himself leaning in, pressing closer as their misty breath mingled in the air between them.

Toothless, however, was evidently feeling ignored, as he suddenly dropped to one side, and took them into a nosedive back through the clouds, the ground rushing up to meet them.

" _Toothless!"_ Hiccup yelled, slamming his feet against the stirrups and yanking on the reins. "No! Bad dragon!" Jack was laughing behind him, even though he was gripping onto him for dear life. "This isn't funny!" Hiccup yelled, but as Toothless finally pulled up just before they reached the ground he knew he didn't mean it.

"It's hilarious," Jack insisted, jumping off the dragon and landing in the snow, grinning from ear to ear. "He certainly knows how to liven things up!"

Toothless looked rather pleased with himself, and Hiccup swatted the back of his head playfully as he carefully got down, minding he didn't slip on his metal foot. Jack was there though, offering his hand to help him down, and Hiccup took it. He didn't need it, not really, he'd dismounted from Toothless a thousand times at least. But he told himself it wasn't normally this slippery on the ground, and that his artificial foot had probably got a little icy up in the cold night air.

"Thanks," he said, standing on his own and letting Jack's hand slide from his.

They were in the same spot they had embarked from, the log cabin in sight down the narrow path in front of them, light glowing from all the windows making it look cosy and inviting. Toothless bound over to it, scrambling up the side and dislodging most of the snow, settling on the roof like a cat by the fireplace. Hiccup could just make out the figures of Merida and Rapunzel through the frosted glass as they looked up from whatever they were doing at the commotion overhead. He laughed again. "I can't take him anywhere," he mused out loud.

"Thank you," said Jack, turning to face him, his hands in his pockets again. "For the ride."

"Ahh, no problem," Hiccup assured him, rubbing the back of his neck. "I always enjoy it when my dragon almost kills my friends out of spite."

Jack moved a little closer, and Hiccup almost instinctively stepped back. But he didn't. "I don't think he liked sharing you," Jack said, a flicker of mischief crossing his face. Hiccup laughed again, but this time nervously. His stomach was doing summersaults, and even though Jack was right up in front of him, he couldn't seem to move away.

"He'll just have to get used to it," he said lamely. "I guess."

"Does that mean we can do it again?" Jack asked hopefully, and Hiccup nodded, hugging himself unsurely but a smile tugging at his lips all the same.

"I'd like that," he said honestly.

Jack glanced back at the cabin, then at Hiccup again. "I guess we should go in," he said, and Hiccup couldn't help feel a stab of disappointment. But then Jack looked back at him, eyes wide with a cautious excitement, and he stepped closer still, so their toes were almost touching. "I don't know when I'll get you to myself again though. Toothless isn't the only one who doesn't like sharing sometimes."

Hiccup gulped, lost for words yet again, unable to do much more but stare back into Jack's blue eyes. Jack wasn't looking for words though it seemed, as suddenly he leaned forwards, and pressed his lips quickly to Hiccup's. He barely had a chance to register what was happening, before Jack pulled back and they blinked at each other. Jack seemed to be holding his breath, waiting for Hiccup's reaction.

Yeah, he was pretty surprised, but he felt like the fluttering in his belly had burst into flames, roaring inside him like a hearth on a cold winter's night. He'd _liked_ it, it was _nice_.

In fact, he was pretty sure he wanted to do it again.

Jack though had taken those few seconds to jump to the wrong conclusion, and his face fell in horror. "Sorry," he stuttered. "I didn't mean, sorry, forget it, I-"

Hiccup interrupted him though by grabbing him into a hug, and kissing him firmly again. This time though, they didn't break apart straight away, and Jack's shock melted into acceptance as he pulled his hands from his hoodie and slid them around Hiccup's back. When they did separate, Hiccup could feel himself grinning stupidly, and Jack was looking back at him with awe in his eyes. "I think I quite like it when you have me to yourself," he said, breathless.

"Me too," Jack replied, dipping down for another kiss.

End


End file.
